Three Blades Of A Stag
by Greymon Leader Batx flashpoint
Summary: There are people who remember their past and have no regrets. Then there are some who have forgotten their past, such as young Dragon has, and wish to remember it. And, in some cases, there are those that wish they could forget their past and have regrets. Golbez is one of those people. Thank you MysteryGirl7Freak for co authoring and PrismRain13 for permission to write this.


**Disclaimer I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney or Square enix please support their official releases. The character Kyra are owned by the author MysteryGirl7Freak and the Reconnected Storyline and its characters such as West and Lydia belong to Prismrain13 please read both their works.**

 **This is a prequel one-shot to Inheritance**

 **The Three Blades of a Stag**

Twilight Town – Sandlot

Twilight Town. The town that remained in-between the realms of light and darkness. Despite that, the town still maintained its serenity, the sunset sky, the daily trams, and the market place where business was booming or worsening depending on the customers.

"Kneel looser," A smug voice commanded.

Dragon, a nine-year-old student wearing a green shirt along with blue jeans and red trainers, was currently losing a battle. He was holding a struggle bat to his chest, his lip bloodied from the last hit he received. Wincing, he wiped it carefully.

In front of him was another boy with blond hair. His attire consisted of a black jacket, grey shorts, red shirt and blue trainers. Like Dragon, he too was holding a struggle bat.

The opponent smirked smugly at the young samurai in training. "I still can't believe you had the stomach to face me again. Then again, you probably love to be given a good thrashing. "

Dragon growled. "I don't care what you say, Seifer. I'm not going to let you pick on me anymore."

Quickly, Dragon raced toward the young man. Seifer didn't even need to raise his bat. All he did was just move a step away to the left and let Dragon head-butt himself into the wall.

Dragon fell to the ground, a massive red bump on his head present. His struggle bat flew from his hand on impact and landed far from his side.

Seifer shook his head, a smug smirk on his lips."Man, you really are a bone head."

Seifer walked closer to Dragon, who was trying to stand but the pain in his head made it hard to focus. Seifer didn't help matters as he kicked the boy in the stomach. Dragon groaned loudly as he slumped onto the ground.

Whatever amusement Seifer had found in his antics died quickly and was replaced with a snarl. He grabbed Dragon's hair and forced him to look Seifer in the eyes. "Don't challenge me again! You understand. People like you think they can come into my town feeling you're all big and mighty. Guess what? You're not. You're not a samurai, you will never be a struggler and, most of all you, will never be a 'Dragon'."

Seifer used his free hand to grab Dragon's shirt and he threw the boy into a puddle of muddy water.

"Do us all a favour and get out of town. No one is going to miss a freak like you." Seifer walked away, throwing his struggler bat onto his shoulder.

Dragon was trying to get out of the muddy puddle but every time he came close to getting his footing, he ended up slipping back into the mud. After failing for the ninth time, the young man just growled and started attacking the mud, not caring for the scratches or dirt that was inflicted on his body.

Before he could continue with his rampage, his hands had been subdued. Dragon looked above to see his hands had been restrained by two bigger hands. Once the figure was sure that Dragon had calm down, he released him. Dragon turned around to see that it was his teacher and guardian, Golbez.

Golbez had long, silver white hair flowing down his back. His eyes were light blue, almost like the lunar light from a moon. He wore a long dark navy coat with yellow lining, a dark navy shirt with a golden sun necklace around his neck, dark navy trousers with black boots that had yellow golden straps and lining. His facial expression was that of a stone. He didn't smile, he wasn't sad or angry. He just looked as if he was in the starting path to each of these emotions yet never walking down the road.

He stared down at Dragon. "Did you get it out of your system?"

Dragon nodded sadly.

Golbez took Dragon's hand and helped him out of the mud. The two walked to a nearby fountain which had been integrated to the wall. "Sit over there," Golbez ordered as he pointed to a bench. Dragon nodded and did what had been asked of him.

Golbez proceeded to the fountain. From his coat, he took a handkerchief and dipped it into the water. Less than a minute later, he walked back over to his young pupil. He bent down before he began to wash the mud from Dragon's face with the cloth.

Dragon just stared down at the floor. He felt too ashamed to even look at his teacher.

Golbez decided to ask the question. "Why did you challenge him?"

"He was picking on Olette. He was making nasty comments about her," Dragon stated.

"What happened to her?" Golbez asked.

"She cried and ran away," Dragon summarised.

"You fought him because he was a bully?" Golbez deduced.

"Not just that," Dragon confessed. "He hurt her feelings. He made her cry, that wasn't right. She only wanted to ask if he needed help with his homework. He didn't need to make her feel like dirt."

"So that's why you challenged him."

Dragon nodded to his master as a confirmation.

Golbez sighed. "You did right by protecting your friend's honour. However, this was not a battle to be won by violence."

Dragon went wide eyed after hearing this. "With respect, master, the only thing Seifer ever has known is violence. Every day, he makes it known how much he hates me."

"Did you ever try talking to him?" Golbez asked.

Dragon frowned at the ground, crossing his arms. "Like talking could make that jerk any different."

Golbez closed his eyes. "Maybe it could have."

Land Of Dragons - Twenty Years Ago

 _Having the ability to remember can be both the best thing and worst thing a person could have. On the positive, they may be able to think back to the good times of their life and all the people whom they have loved. On the negative, they realised they can never regain those moments of their life again no matter how hard they tried and remember the mistakes they regret._

 _For Golbez, he felt this pain for as long as he can remember. Like his student, he had lost his original world. It had been such a long time ago that he didn't even remember his original name or the name of his world._

 _All he could remember was cradling his new baby brother as the darkness consumed his home. He never heard or seen his brother since that day. At night he would pray to anyone who would listen that his brother had survived but eventually he had to accept the bluntness of reality._

 _Once that darkness had destroyed his home he had found himself in a new world. He remembered being terrified and hungry. He had landed next to a castle. He didn't know who lived there or why they had a castle. The only thing he knew for certain was that new challenges await him in this new world._

 _After a week of begging, he soon learned that this world was called the Land Of Dragons. The inhabitants had their own traditions such as duty and honour. Golbez just shook his head after hearing those words. If duty and honour were such a thing, then why was he starving on the streets while this emperor was probably living in such luxury?_

 _The next Monday that came after his first week there was a day of a parade. It was said that the Emperor was going to making an appearance on his horse._

 _It was midday, the sun was as hot as ever and crowds of people had formed outside their homes. Golbez just stayed in the background. He didn't need to see this golly gagger._

 _However, he did see a man with a knife sneaking through the sea of people. This alerted Golbez. He followed the man into the crowd and was able to keep up with the man. At first Golbez didn't do anything. It seemed the man was not a thief as he did not take any gold or pickpocket anyone. He just seemed to be standing almost as if he was waiting…_

 _Golbez understood then what was happening. This man was going to try and kill the Emperor._

 _Without a second thought, Golbez ran as fast as he could and jumped onto the man. The man retaliated by trying to slash Golbez but Golbez was able to use his weight to his advantage and push the man onto the ground._

 _Coincidentally, they had both fallen straight in front of the Emperor. Golbez was able to see this man for himself. Any negative feelings he felt for the ruler disappeared instantly._

 _This man in front of him was wearing golden armour version of what his soldiers were wearing. He had a red cape coming down his back, the twelve guardians' animals had been printed and painted onto his chest plate, and his helmet had been styled like a dragon head. His physical face was so stern yet at the same time peaceful with the black beard coming down around his mouth._

 _He looked at his would be killer and ordered two of the guards to take him away. He then turned to look at the young Golbez. Golbez started in awe at the Emperor._

 _In return the Emperor had smiled and offered Golbez a ride on his house. Golbez complied and was taken in by the Emperor._

 _The Emperor explained for saving his life Golbez had shown bravery and for that he would be rewarded._

 _The Emperor showed Golbez his private vault inside the castle. It contained paintings, detailed statues, and many more beautiful objects. However, what caught Golbez's eyes was in the centre of the vault._

 _Sheathed in a scabbard and displayed on a golden pedestal, a sword of great beauty blew Golbez's mind. It was covered by a blue sheath with silver lining, the hilt of the sword with silver white with a red emerald in its middle. On top of the hilt was a small, yellow crown._

 _Golbez asked the Emperor if the sword would be his reward. He simply replied that it could be. For saving his life, the Emperor would take Golbez under his wing as his apprentice and would teach him the ways of the samurai and the importance of this specific sword._

 _The Emperor then explained to Golbez that he would be one of two apprentices. The two left the vault and walked into the castle main halls with their white stands and beautiful floors. They soon came to a bedroom and stopped at its door._

 _The Emperor explained why there was a parade. It turned out that an evil king from a distant world had tried to take over The Land of Dragons. The Emperor had spent a month in war trying to send this evil king back. He also explained the man who had tried to kill him was one of the Evil King's supporters who got left behind by his lord._

 _The Emperor further on explained that the Evil King had a squire who he had left behind. The poor boy had been so confused by the rush that he didn't have time to make it to a portal. The Emperor, feeling pity for this young man, took him back to his kingdom and, like Golbez, took him in as an apprentice._

 _The Emperor opened the door to show a young man with short blond hair, red chest armour, blue eyes, red boots and white leggings. He was named Cornelius. While he would in some ways be Golbez's rival, he would also be his new brother._

 _The Emperor explained why he picked the two boys. His wife, while he loved her dearly, was very sickly. Having a child would likely kill her from the strain. So he had to think of alternative ways to get an heir for the throne._

 _He respected Golbez for proving his honour by putting his own problems aside and saving his lord and liege. He respected Cornelius despite working for the enemy he stuck by his duty to his king to the very end, even if the evil king was trying to take over his land. These were two attributes the Emperor was looking for in a successor._

 _So he made both boys a deal. They would go under the same training regimen as he once did to inherit the sword. Additionally, they would also be taught about politics and the responsibility of being a ruler._

 _Fifteen years the two boys trained. Wooden swords, dummies, resistance training, tactics and a whole lot of complications on the way. Every day was gruelling but in some ways wonderful. The Emperor, his wife, and the two boys became a family. They made jokes, they had parties, they visited villages in the outskirts, spent time together. Every moment was golden._

 _Until the Empress got pregnant._

 _Sometime ago, the Emperor was given news of three fairies that came from an offshore world who had the magic to cure his wife's ailment. The Emperor was given the needs to summon them from an ancient magic scroll from his royal library._

 _The three good fairies were summoned and the Emperor's gamble was rewarded. His wife was cured by their magic and she could produce children without any risk to her own life._

 _Golbez was happy for the two. In truth, he never wanted to be Emperor. Cornelius was a different story, however. He did put in a 'congratulations' and 'I'm so happy for you' when he heard the news. Golbez could hear the fear in his voice. If this child was born a boy then, by the laws of this world, he would inherit everything. But if born a girl, then there was still chance the law would allow one of them to have the throne._

 _Finally, a girl was born. Cornelius felt relieved, knowing that with the law being as it was written, his chances to gain the throne where still possible._

 _Soon afterwards, the Emperor had summoned both boys to his throne room. It was time to name who would inherit what._

 _The Emperor said both boys were worthy, having going through the final test to inherit the sacred sword but there could only be one._

 _Golbez was chosen to take the final test. Golbez felt truly relieved to hear this, ever since he saw that sword he dreamt one day of wielding it as his own._

 _Cornelius was happy for his friend, mostly because it meant he would be able to inherit the throne. He waited for his teacher to tell him about his inheritance. Nothing was said. The only thing the Emperor had stated was Golbez was going to take the final trial, nothing about who inherited the throne._

 _Cornelius found it a bit odd but just shrugged it off, thinking his teacher would name him successor during dinner. He couldn't have been more wrong._

 _Before going to dinner, Cornelius overheard the Emperor's advisors talking and saw them looking over a scroll. He waited until it was just the one with the scroll left and cornered him. He demanded to know what they were conversing about. The lawyer, nervously looking at the teen, explained that the Emperor had changed his will._

 _Cornelius demanded to know what was changed. He was given the scroll and read it. Each word that was painted on was like a dagger into the young pupil's heart. Once he finished his reading, he stormed into the dining room._

 _There, he and his teacher came face to face. Cornelius felt betrayed. He felt as if he had been cheated from what had been promised to him. According to this new will, the princess would become The Land of Dragon;s first official Empress upon the Emperor's death._

 _His teacher nodded and explained to Cornelius that the will was official. Outraged, he made so many excuses as to why this would not work. He tried to use gender but his teacher responded that his world would still accept her since she is of his blood. He tried to use experience, the Emperor replied 'anyone can be taught anything.'_

 _After so many failed reasons, the young teen stated that the throne was his by promise. The Emperor admitted that was true but, unfortunately, no one would trust him due to being part of a world that tried to take theirs with hostility and possibly would have started a war. In the end, he made it clear his daughter would inherit everything._

 _That was the last straw for the young apprentice. He stormed out of the room in anger, even punching a few servants and guards. Golbez tried to stop him but before he could reach him, the young man had stolen a horse and left the kingdom._

 _For three months, Golbez had not seen Cornelius._

 _Golbez later took his trial and proved himself worthy to wield the sacred sword. The Empress had become pregnant once more. Things seemed to be going well. Until one day, a simple moment changed all that._

 _A farmer ran into the castle, completely shaken. He had explained a group of dark, armoured warriors had come and burned his village to the ground. His wife and children had all been killed by these attackers._

 _He then explained that the attackers claimed to be from a world called Prydain. That was enough to tell the Emperor who was attacking. Prydain was the world where the evil king hailed from; where Cornelius originally came from._

 _He had ordered every man from every family to come to the castle. The Emperor knew that Cornelius wants what was promised to him; the Kingdom and the sacred sword._

Palace gates

 _Golbez looked around the palace. The gates consisted of two giant, red doors that had two golden dragon statues on both sides. The floor was made of solid stone and a staircase followed down to the courtyard where a smaller gate lay, which allow people in and out from the place or the city when opened._

 _Golbez was wearing the traditional general uniform. A black breast plate, a red cape flowing down his back with white and grey sleeves with a grey skirt, and black boots. He looked at his sword, Higher. Even though he was the rightful heir to the sacred sword by completing his training, he felt his teacher should keep it during the battle for his safety. However, Higher had a more personal meaning to Golbez. This sword was a birthday present from his fellow pupil. He named it Higher because he wanted to show he could aim that high._

 _Golbez sighed heavily. For now, he was going to be using this sword to kill his best friend._

 _He looked at the golden dragon statue. "Did you ever have to deal with this?" He asked._

 _There was no response, not that he expected one from a statue. Golbez just rolled his eyes as he saw the snow drifting down on the palace._

 _"General Golbez!" A lieutenant shouted as he came toward the young general._

 _"What is it, Lieutenant Li?" Golbez asked._

 _"Sir, we got reports from our scouts. The Dark Knights are coming through a portal of some kind," he stated._

 _Golbez nodded. "Everyone, form positions now!" Golbez went in front of the soldiers, guarding the gate with Li on his right side. He looked down at the courtyard where all the men were holding their swords in anticipation. Some silently prayed to survive the upcoming battle._

 _In a heartbeat, fifty corridors of darkness opened, with their black, dooming mist going into a circular position. The darkness felt like a waterfall just going in different directions, never knowing when it was going to stop._

 _Before anyone could do anything, there was a sound of a huge thump on the ground. The dark knights were jumping out of their portals one by one. Their appearance was terrifying; their armour as black as night with red lining like blood was coming down their suits, their shoulders had curved spikes sticking out from them, the lower part of their arms had smaller spikes, theirs legs were so skinny that movement would be no problem from them._

 _What made them truly terrifying was their helmets. They were completely black with two white eyes and what looked like a mouthpiece at the bottom with small black spikes flowing down from the back of the helmet like ears or scales. The helmet was almost shaped like a panther's head._

 _They each had a black sword with a silver hilt and a black shield which was shaped like an ogre's head._

 _One last person came out of the corridor before all fifty disappeared. He was wearing black/purple armour, two curved red spikes coming out of his shoulder pieces, a purple cape coming down his back. Unlike his fellow knights, he didn't wear the helmet. Instead, he wore a purple crown, designed to look like two giant stag antlers._

 _Golbez looked down to that man. He closed his eyes, feeling the emotional pain going through him. He dreaded seeing this man ever since he heard of the attacks._

 _Golbez lowered his hand, a signal to his men to fall silent._

 _"Cornelius!" Golbez shouted, his voice echoing off the palace's structure._

 _The Dark Knight army roared. One of the knights went forward. "That's King Cornelius to you, cradle snatcher!"_

 _In return Cornelius summoned his sword. It was a samurai sword with a purple blade with a red lining and a black handle with two small, silver stag horns coming out from the end of the hilt. Bloody Hunt._

 _He rose Bloody Hunt and slashed his own man in halve. The blood dripped onto the white, soft snow. It's pure, natural color changed into a bright red._

 _Golbez's shock turned to anger. "He was one yours!"_

 _Cornelius just swiped the blood off Bloody Hunt on the thick, white snow. "A king should speak for himself. Not have their underlings speak for him," He replied coldly._

 _"Why are you doing this?" Golbez asked._

 _Cornelius narrowed his eyes."Why do you think?" He snarled like an angry pig, "I want what was promised to me!" He shouted, his face twisted in rage._

 _Golbez shook his head. "That matter has been decided long ago."_

 _"Of course you would side with him! You're his golden boy!" He shouted back with sarcasm. "You and his brat get everything while I'm left in the dark."_

 _"He would have done right with you if you just stayed," Golbez retorted._

 _Cornelius just raised Bloody Hunt in reply. "How about I stay and you all leave in coffins!" He turned left and right, facing his army of dark knights. "Ready, on my command!"_

 _The army of dark knights raised their swords. "WAVES OF DARKNESS!" The entire army, included Cornelius himself, stabbed their swords to the grounds as a wave of darkness sprouted from the earth._

 _The wave went incredibly fast, like a stampede, burning everything in its path._

 _Golbez grunted. "Fireworks, now!"_

 _The soldiers nodded and quickly got twenty fireworks ready. They appeared to have a giant circular body with a red dragon head in front of them. The soldiers lit up the fireworks before the wave hit them._

 _Thankfully, they were able to make a spark from their rocks and the rockets went sky-high with a beautiful fiery pattern coming from their behind._

 _Each rocket hit the wave. The clash caused a powerful light to submerge from the union of attacks, almost lighting up the snowy night sky._

 _The troops didn't have time to admire the lightshow as the dark knights roared with war in their minds and rushed toward the gates._

 _Golbez unsheathed his sword and raised it at the enemy. "ATTACK!"_

 _He raised Higher as he, along with his troops, charged into a blaze of glory at the warriors of darkness. The snow jumping from the ground with each foot that clamped down onto it._

 _Both sides were moving closer and closer on the staircase until…_

 _CLANG!_

 _BANG!_

 _SHOOT!_

 _The Dark Knights and the Emperor's Soldiers were locked in a heated battle._

 _Golbez surveyed the chaos all around him. One dark knight came from behind but Golbez sensed him and slashed him with the back of his sword without even turning around. Another dark knight came in front him. Golbez tried to strike but the knight used his shield to block and scratched Golbez on his leg. Golbez winced from the pain but got his footing and slashed the dark knight upwards._

 _He looked around to get an idea of what to do, who to help, and, most of all, where was the leader of these maniacs._

 _Golbez looked at the top of stairs to see Cornelius dropping a man whom he had strangled to death before running toward the gate. Golbez ran as fast as he could, fighting back any enemy that got in his way. He trusted his men to take care of the dark knights, but the emperor was in danger from a person he once called his brother._

 _Golbez came up to the strangled soldier and picked up his sword. He then used the casualty's weapon as a spear and shot it at Cornelius._

 _Cornelius sensed him and was able to used Bloody Hunt to strike the incoming sword away from him._

 _Golbez jumped onto the ground with Higher in front of him "Do not go in there!" He ordered._

 _"Why not? It's already too late for me to get down from here." Cornelius raised Bloody Hunt and went to strike Golbez. Golbez retaliated with Higher, pushing his foe back. Cornelius lunged himself at Golbez. The force was so great both swords fell from the other's hands._

 _The sword fight had converted to a fist fight. Golbez punched Cornelius in the face while he kicked Golbez in the leg, damaging his shin._

 _Cornelius grabbed Higher and used his dark powers to give him the strength to break it into two pieces. He threw the handle halve piece at Golbez, who managed to dodge it. Cornelius then jumped onto Golbez, using the blade halve of Higher to stab him repeatedly in the gut._

 _Golbez growled in pain as he went in and bit Cornelius on the ear. Both of them screaming from the pain the other was giving._

 _Cornelius kicked Golbez off of him with his foot. In seconds, a space came between the two. Cornelius then turned around and got up, found Bloody Hunt, and picked it up._

 _He turned to the golden dragon statues. "DARK FLARE!" He pointed his sword to both of them and blue fire came off the tip of the blade. The fire damaged the stands the statues were on, causing them to fall in front of the gate making it impossible to enter._

 _Cornelius grinned evilly as he opened a corridor to darkness. He turned to see his rival on the ground. "I promise he will feel everything." With that threat, he went through the dark portal._

 _"NOOO!" Golbez screamed, his hand outstretched to where the portal once was._

 _Golbez tried to move but his wounds were too severe. His vision went in and out of focus, the world tilting sideways._

 _"I'm sorry," he whispered before fainting from the blood loss._

Throne Room

 _The throne room was indeed made for royalty. The gold and black carpets, the gold shields and banners that hang on the walls for decoration. In the middle of the room was the Emperor, wearing his golden armour as he once did during the first Prydain battle. Next to him was the sacred sword he had inherited from his master, the Singing Paladin. Such a powerful sword yet such a burden for its keeper. The emperor counted himself lucky he was able to balance his duties with his family life. Yet now it seemed his life and that of his family's may come to an end because he had picked the wrong apprentice._

 _In a few seconds, there were sounds of a struggle coming from outside the throne room. The doors opened widely as if blown open by a powerful wind._

 _The Emperor narrowed his eyes down at his ex-pupil. The soldiers that had been stationed outside his door were beaten. One killed and the other knocked out._

 _The Emperor clenched his sword tightly and closed his eyes, wondering how many people had died for his mistake. He opened his eyes, a hint of sadness in them as he look on one he had once thought of as son. Instead, he only saw a murderer._

 _Cornelius walked slowly in. "So while your men are dying you stay all cosy up in here. Some ruler you turned out to be."_

 _"The reason I decided to stay was not because of cowardice but rather calculation. I knew you would have your Dark Knights play as sheep to a slaughter while you would come straight to the wolf's heart. For one who wishes to be a ruler you do not seem to care for your fellow men," he retorted._

 _"Don't give me that," Cornelius fumed as he jabbed his finger to the Emperor, "You're just jealous that I found a way to make use of Lunar Rock."_

 _"You mean the corrupted version," stated the Emperor._

 _Cornelius shook his head as he put his hands on his hips and began walking to the right side of the room. "I read what happened to those Paladins that fell into darkness, they became what is my army."_

 _"Corrupted Lunar Rock will destroy one's mind. It acts as a parasite, slowly killing you without you even knowing. That's what Darkness does."_

 _Cornelius scoffed. "Don't preach to me, old man."_

 _"I'm not. I actually agree with you." Cornelius turned his head at his old master, confused. "Darkness isn't evil and light isn't good. Both are just merely tools like a screwdriver. However, you should look at the two as drinks, not emotions. The reason people drink the light is because it's nice. Refreshing and pure like a stream through a forest. While darkness is rum laced with venom. Too much will poison you."_

 _"You haven't seen evil," Cornelius muttered._

 _"I saw Prydain's king," The Emperor replied, remembering when he had to do combat with the devil incarnate._

 _Cornelius clenched his fist. "He made my life hell. He took her away from me."_

 _"Who?" The ruler inquired._

 _"My mother," Cornelius whispered as his face became pale, eyes distant._

 _"I thought she abandoned you?" The Emperor asked, perplexed getting confused by his once pupil._

 _"She was a pub owner. I remember her blond hair and that stag necklace of hers. She used to hum all the time. Wherever she was, there was that tone she hum, a secret song no one knew but her." Cornelius remembered for a brief moment the happier times of his life before reality kicked in._

 _"The Evil King came to our pub. He wanted to get some booze down him before he went hunting. My mother said no since she thought he already had enough. Believe it or not, she cared for his safety despite being such an evil monster. We both regretted it later."_

 _Cornelius shuddered. "He had my mother tied up and gagged inside the pub. He took me outside and he gave me a choice: I would throw a touch on the pub, burning it and my mother inside or my mother would live and the King would have my throat slit."_

 _"What did you do?" The Emperor felt his stomach flip. He knew the king was evil but to go that far, death seemed too good for him._

 _"I picked the coward's way out," Cornelius whispered as a tear fell down his cheek. "The king thought I had guts so he made me his squire. I had to serve wine to that creature." His knuckles turned white. "When you took me in I thought I found my family. The one that could heal me, but all got was a new king who made my life hell."_

 _The Emperor sighed. "You didn't stay long enough for me to talk to you. I couldn't just surrender my child's inheritance, her right like that. I would not have just left you in the cold. I would have made you a lord, a general even. Try and have you marry one of the outside kingdoms."_

 _"Shut up!" Cornelius replied, "You just wanted a jester and instead you got a threat."_

 _Cornelius walked up to a map. "When I returned to Prydain, I had found out that that evil king had been taken care of. Burned alive apparently. When I looked around the land, it didn't get better. It was worse and those other kings and queens didn't do a damn thing." To make his point, he burned the map with dark fire._

 _"So it came to my attention, the one thing we all have in common is death and darkness. In order to truly use darkness as a means to live, there must be one who can embrace its use to make a future for all worlds."_

 _"First, I will take your world. Then get rid of those pretenders from Prydain and then the entire universe shall be at my disposal."_

 _"No!" The Emperor stood up. "This idealism will only lead to your destruction. Your lust for power will only bring misery."_

 _"IT'S MY REWARD!" Cornelius shouted back, "I have suffered, I had to endure that mad man's taunts, your fake lectures, being cast down by a baby. I have been denied to live my life the way I can. I let people like you construct me and now it is time I claim what I have been made for. I will take that sword and make all the worlds bow before me as their rightful king."_

 _"Kings should never have that much power."_

 _"You're right. A God should," Cornelius said thoughtfully._

 _"Those who seek Godhood often end up becoming devils," The Emperor berated calmly._

 _"Then I will make sure you join them in hell!" Cornelius screamed as he unsheathed Bloody Hunt and jumped to kill his former master. The golden knight quickly jumped away before the strike could be made, causing his chair to be split in half by his ex-apprentice._

 _The Emperor unsheathed Singing Paladin and started to cast a spell while he was falling slowly in mid-air. "Thunder Lances!" Three silhouette lances made from lighting formed and went to strike the corrupted king._

 _"Reflect!" Cornelius ordered as a glass dome covered him. Once the lances reached the dome, an explosion erupted, destroying the throne seat. Cornelius jumped from the ashes and targeted his former master like a missile._

 _The Emperor jumped straight into his opponent's' direction and the two blades clashed in mid-air. Both went upside down from the lack of gravity. Cornelius saw a banner on the wall. "Magnet!"_

 _The banner engulfed his former master as both fell onto the ground. Cornelius decided to use this distraction to end the old man._

 _He went in for the stab until…_

 _"FIRE TSUNAMI!"_

 _The banner was consumed by fire and forced Cornelius away as he used his cape as a shield._

 _The Emperor jumped from the flames and clashed swords with his former pupil. Their swords were in a gridlock, neither one wanting to break._

 _"It doesn't have to be this way," The Emperor pleaded._

 _"It always was going to be this way, 'Father'." Cornelius broke the lock and stabbed the Emperor in the leg._

 _The Emperor staggered and eventually had to give up the fight. He was about to take hold of Singing Paladin to cast cure on himself. Before he could do so, Cornelius kicked his hand away from the sword and picked it up himself._

 _"At last. A true weapon for a God to be." He examined the Singing Paladin. He walked away to give himself and his former master some space._

 _"I want you to know what you made me feel. I want you to know what it feels like to look at everything you've worked for only for it to fall apart," he boasted as he put Bloody Hunt back in its sheath. He wanted to kill his former master with his own weapon._

 _"Do this and your will dishonour yourself and your mother forever," The Emperor warned._

 _"I'm already going to hell." The Dark King said,"ACID SPEAR!" With Singing Paladin in front of him, the tip of the sword shot a green liquid to the Emperor who could only close his eyes from the attack._

 _At the throne room's door, the guard who had been knocked out managed to regain consciousness. Even though he felt drowsy, he was able to see the attack._

 _He looked at the wall and saw a golden decorative shield. He ran to it as fast as he could, took it, and threw it like a boomerang._

 _As the acid was getting closer and closer to the Emperor, the shield came in between both man and attack._

 _The acid was deflected by the shield. Before Cornelius could do anything, the acid sprang right into his face. He howled horribly as he felt burns course through his body. The pain was too much, he had to drop Singing Paladin and cover his face with both his hands to put some pressure on his melting skin._

 _The Emperor reclaimed Singing Paladin and pointed it straight at his ex-pupil. "For threatening my family and trying to murder me I sentence you…"_

 _"MY FACE!" Cornelius used the last of his magic to open a corridor to darkness and jumped straight in before anyone could do anything._

 _The Emperor exhaled. He had a feeling Cornelius would likely die from his wound; however, something told him not to expect this battle to be the last thing his ex-pupil would do in his life._

 _"My lord!" Golbez cried out, recently healed with a couple of Hi-potions from troops. He, along with five others, ran into the throne room. "Are you okay? Where is..?"_

 _Before Golbez could continue, the Emperor pushed Singing Paladin into his hands. "I need you to go to the snowy mountains. There is an ancient shrine that poses some magic to transport you to another world."_

 _"Master, I don't-"_

 _The Emperor unclipped his scabbard and gave it to Golbez. "I will send at least ten men with you to make sure you get there safely."_

 _"What happened to…"_

 _The Emperor gave him a stern and serious look as he put his hands on Golbez's shoulders. "Now is not the time to talk. Now is the time to act. The Singing Paladin came very close to being corrupted, its power used for evil. Have the Dark Knights been taken care of?"_

 _Golbez nodded._

 _"Good, now I need you to go. For all I know, Cornelius is planning another attack. He try to find more corrupted Lunar Rock to make more Dark Knights. Singing Paladin is no longer safe, you need to go."_

 _Golbez stood still. This was a lot to take in. One moment, he was home but now he was told he would need to leave this home, this family he made. Honour and duty, that was what he had been told ever since he came to this world._

 _Golbez gave a look of determination. "I will make sure Singing Paladin will be safe." He began to make his way to the stables._

 _"Golbez!" The Emperor called out. Golbez stopped. "I want to say I am proud and honoured to have taken you as my pupil. I hope you will find an apprentice who is as worthy as you."_

 _Golbez turned around, bowed to his teacher one last time, and left._

 _The Emperor's shoulders sagged. One pupil was to leave forever. the other probably dead. What had happened to these two boys? What had he done to them to make their lives so difficult?_

 _"Your highness. are you alright?" The guard asked behind the Emperor._

 _The Emperor turned to look at the guard. "I apologise. I suppose that this change was difficult to accept or maybe I just blame myself for the tragedy of this battle."_

 _He paused a moment. "You saved my life from that acid attack. Please tell me your name so I may reward you."_

 _The soldier nodded as he took off his helmet "My name is Fa Zhou."_

Twilight Town – Present time

"Master Golbez? Master Golbez? Are you in there?" Dragon asked, waving his hand in front of his master's face.

Golbez blinked a few times and shook his head. "Sorry, just thinking about something."

Dragon pouted. "Well it's better to look at you daydream then deal with Seifer."

Golbez took Dragon's small hands into his. "Listen to me, you are going to meet people who like making you feel like dirt. Who are probably going to grow up into monsters. It won't matter what you tell them or how you plead with them, they will always have deaf ears.

"Still, you shouldn't just cut those people out forever. The one thing you have is time. Yes, Seifer is probably going to torment you and your friends for the rest of your life. On the other hand, the seed in him is still small and can be replaced if someone is willing to change it," Golbez explained.

Dragon shuddered as he turned his head to face the wall. "Seifer doesn't want to be my friend or anyone's friend."

"One day Seifer may need your help and you may need his. For that to happen, one of you needs to make a bridge."

Dragon paused in thought before he released his hands from his master's and began walking to Market Street.

"Where are you going?" Golbez asked.

"I'm going to get Olette and Seifer to have ice cream with me. I'm going to try and get him to say sorry and see if she still wants to help him with his homework." Dragon smiled at his Master while Golbez returned that smile.

Dragon ran out of the Sandlot. Golbez's smile lasted for a while before he frowned. He looked toward to the amber sky. "Despite everything, I still miss you, brother."

Moat Castle – Twenty Years Ago

 _Screaming was all that could be heard through the torn down castle in Prydain. The castle was built on water and its structure had deteriorated badly. Consisting of only two towers, one bigger and the other one falling in with the rest of the building._

 _The screaming continued. In a chamber, Cornelius was on his bed, still in his armour and crying in agony from the pain he was in._

 _His physician was doing all he could. Cornelius's condition was next to impossible to cure. The boy's skin was literally melting away._

 _"Where are the Dark Knights!" Demanded Cornelius._

 _"I'm afraid, sire, you used up all your Dark Lunar Rock. The only material of it is the one you're wearing," The physician explained._

 _Furious. Cornelius grabbed a plate and threw it at the physician._

 _"GET OUT!" He screamed as he went back into his painful screams._

 _The Physician complied, terrified of the boy would do if he didn't. Cornelius screamed more and more, there was no way he would survive the night._

 _"May that be a lesson to your full-hardiness," An old, cagey voice echoed around the room._

 _"Who's there?" demanded Cornelius. He kept his face cover with his blanket, refusing anyone to see him._

 _Out of the shadows, an old man appeared. He had a white goatee, yellow eyes, a white vest, a black coat, and black boots._

 _"Someone who understands what is it like to be you, boy," The old man explained._

 _"You don't know anything about me!" Cornelius argued._

 _The old man went to a table and poured himself a glass of wine. "I understand what it is like to be denied something you desire. For you its power, for me its knowledge." The old man explained._

 _"What do you want from me?" demanded Cornelius._

 _"I can save your life, I can even tell you how to conquer your world. For a price."_

 _"Name it."_

 _"You have the ability to travel to other worlds. Your ambition is to take over them. That is something I cannot allow." The old man broke the glass on the table after he was finished with it._

 _"I already have one who lusts for power in the Enchanted Domain. I do not need to look over my shoulder for another one. So my deal is this; I will save your life and give you the information you seek. On condition that I put a spell on you. As long as I am alive, you cannot leave Prydain until I die. Understood?" The old man asked._

 _"Deal." Cornelius didn't care about being trapped in Prydain. The man was old, he would outlive him._

 _The old man smirked. "Good, we have a bargain." He began to walk toward the young man. "Let me tell you how exactly your world's evil king died. It is true that he was thrown into lava. However, what you didn't know was that he was wearing dark Lunar Rock as his armour."_

 _The old man raised his hand as a strange, grey weapon materialised out of thin air around his fingers. "The dark Lunar Rock used the lava to morph the Evil King's body."_

 _"Morph it into what?" Cornelius asked. He looked through his sheets at the Old Man's weapon. "Wait, isn't that a key..."_

 _The old man stabbed Cornelius in the heart with his weapon, a black fire circled his heart and fire exploded from his hands and head with a burst of red. The acid was going straight into his skin as it was healing, making his appearance deranged and green. His purple crown was merging into his head as his hair fell off and the crown's horns became actual horns. His face had become decayed from the acid, giving it a more skeleton look with some skin still attached on. Soon, the transformation was complete as the fire died down._

 _The king stopped his screaming as the pain disappeared. The old man walked toward his head. "Don't expect to leave this world soon. As I said before, you are trapped here till I die. As for your information..." The old man whispered something to the new-born king._

 _The King nodded as the old man opened a corridor to darkness and left._

 _"Physician, come in," The new king requested, his voice changed._

 _The physician came and once he saw his king's new looked, he dropped everything he was holding. "Oh my..." he gasped at the new appearance._

 _"A mirror," The king asked. The physician was still in a state of shock. "A MIRROR!" The king demanded once more._

 _The physician ran to the king's cupboard and took out a purple mirror and handed it to the king's green skinned and long nailed hands._

 _The king looked at his appearance. "Perfect." Was all he said as he destroyed the mirror by throwing it on the floor._

 _"Find me a book of this world's landscapes."_

 _"Why, my lord?" The Physician asked, still shaking in terror._

 _"I wish to look for a cauldron."_

 **The end**

 **I wanted to say a massive thank you to MysteryGirl7Freak you're the best and thank you so much for helping me with this prequel your amazing**

 **Character list**

 **Dragon – Oc**

 **Olette, Master Xeahnort – Kingdom Hearts**

 **Seifer – Final Fantasy 8**

 **Golbez – Final Fantasy 4**

 **The Emperor, Li and Fa Zhou – Mulan**

 **The Three Fairies – Sleeping Beauty**

 **Cornelius/ Horned King – Black Cauldron**

 **The Dark Knight Class was introduced in Final Fantasy 2 and has made appearances onwards.**


End file.
